The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines

The history of communist insurgency in the Philippines dates back in World War II when Marxist-Leninist inspired group called Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap) fought on the side of Filipino and American forces against the Japanese. That was so because Russia or USSR, the first communist state in the world and its patron, was part of the Allied Forces that fought Germany in World War II. The Hukbalahap also championed the cause of the peasants and also fought the landlords in Central Luzon and those who were suspected of collaborating with the Japanese.

During the election of 1946 just after the war members of the Hukbalahap led by Luis Taruc ran for election and some of them won. However, President Roxas unseated them, and they went to the jungle to revolt. The image projected by the communists as defenders of the peasants and the poor plus the corruption of the succeeding president had strengthened their mass based support as well as its armed capability. It came close to victory so that it even threatened to advance to Manila, the national capital.   

In 1949, the Filipino communists got a morale boost and inspiration from a world event which was the overthrow of China’s Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek by the communists who were led by Mao Zedong. The victory of the Chinese communists had somehow strengthened the conviction of their local counterparts that the rebellion could succeed.

The ambush by the communists of the popular former first lady Aurora Aragon Quezon, chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross and widow of the late President Manuel L. Quezon, and her daughter “Baby” turned many Filipinos against them.  President Harry Truman of the United States, wary of communist victory, sent arms and other war materiel to the Philippines to help its armed forces.  One shining moment in the fight against the communists was the appointment of Ramon Magsaysay as defense secretary. Magsaysay enforced strict discipline in the military and vastly improved its capability to deal with the armed rebellion. Later, as the President of the Philippines he implemented social and economic reforms that eventually broke the backbone of communist rebellion. The communists were completely defeated in 1954 with their top leaders killed, captured and surrendered.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was vanquished, but its ideology was not. To keep that ideology from inspiring the youth, it should be discredited or replaced with a better one. The Marxist concept of sharing all works according to one’s ability and all benefits according to one’s need and a utopian society where everyone is equal is indeed appealing not only to the poor but also to most people. Corruption, unequal distribution of wealth and the privileges of the elites are ills of the Philippine society. The communists believed that application of their ideology is the solution to the country’s problems. Some people believed then that communism was the wave of the future whose eventual triumph could not be prevented.

Despite government’s effort to subdue it, Marxist-Leninist idea was passed on to new generation of youths and students.  A line of communications between the old and the new communists was open. Jose Maria Sison alias Amado Guerrero emerged as the leader of the then communist youths. He differed however with the old group of Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) or the Communist Party of the Philippines regarding the way it carried out its operations in the past which resulted to the defeat or near extinction of the PKP. Furthermore, Sison was more inclined to the Chinese style communism or Maoism rather the Soviets’ on which the remnants of Hukbalahap under PKP Secretary General Jesus Lava adhered to. Correcting past errors, Sison made the First Rectification of the Communist Strategy.

The old communists under Lava however, took exception of Sison’s rectification campaign which led to the division between the old and the young communists. Sison considered Lava and his groups as counter revolutionary and revisionists. Sison bolted out from the PKP in 1968 and reestablished the Communist Party of the Philippines with him as the chairman. On March 29, 1969, Sison founded the New People’s Army (NPA) as the armed wing of the party.                

The CPP/NPA made one of their boldest moves when they bombed the political campaign rally of the Liberal Party on August 21, 1971, in Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Manila. It resulted to 9 dead and 95 injured, and almost wiped out the entire opposition senatorial ticket of the Party. The public attributed the incident to President Ferdinand Marcos. The communist- instigated rally in the streets spearhead by the League of Filipino Students created an atmosphere of instability and chaos so that Marcos had to suspend the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

Near the end of his term, Marcos declared martial law which enabled him to extend his rule for another 13 long years. Under the pretext of containing communist and Muslim rebellions he imprisoned political oppositions, silenced the media and put up a puppet legislative assembly. The abuses committed by men in uniform in the hinterlands had somehow helped the NPA heightened their recruitment in the country side.                                                                                                                               

The repressive and corrupt Martial Law regime became a common ground for the communist and other well meaning groups to rally against. On April 24, 1973 the CPP/NPA established the National Democratic Front (NDF) as umbrella group in coalition with other sectors that were opposed to the dictatorship.                                                                                                                                                                   

During the Martial Law years many of those who joined the CPP/NPA were intelligent idealistic youths who had bright future ahead of them if they had chosen to be in the mainstream path. But they chose to go underground and to live in hardship to follow their conviction.

Meanwhile, the United States and the neighboring South Viet Nam were defeated by the communist North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong in 1975. The historic event was a sort of psychological boost to the local communists in the thought that a dedicated and highly motivated weaker force can defeat a seemingly bigger and formidable foe with a status of a super power.                                                                  

The situation under Marcos came to a head when Benigno Aquino, a prominent opposition leader, was assassinated upon his arrival from the United States. Putting the blame on Marcos, people took to the street to protests. The resulting political upheaval took its toll on the economy and there was a strong call from the people for Marcos to resign. To appease them and to regain his image abroad, Marcos called for a snap election. Though he was declared a winner against his rival, Corazon Aquino, the people thought that the election was rigged. In February 1986 people turned out in large numbers to protest. Marcos woes were worsened when his defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Vice chief of staff Fidel Ramos defected to the protesters. Under extreme pressure, Marcos fled to Hawaii and Cory Aquino was proclaimed as president.    

The stand of the communists in that historic moment to watch in the sideline and to wait and see was understandable considering that the Philippine military had taken the center stage of the February revolution. They knew that the military was uncompromisingly anti-communist, and there was no possibility that it would collaborate with them.                                                                     

In 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic collapsed after 70 years of adapting Marxism. The event had a serious and negative implication to the cause the local communist are fighting for - their ideology. The experience of the USSR strongly indicated that communism does not work. However, the CPP/NPA did not go with the demise of the USSR. Although it has weakened, it continues to exist and remains a potent threat to national security.                                                                                                                                                                           

Furthermore, after the death of Mao Zedong, his successors opened the door for private business ownership and invited foreign investors thus undoing his closed market policy. The result was that the economy of China improved tremendously. China is now the second largest economy in the world. However, China maintains its authoritarian character, and still considers itself as a communist state. The experience in China proves that Marxist state controlled economy stifles growth, and that an economy where businesses are privately owned is a better economic system.

Some of the former conditions which facilitated the growth of the CPP/NPA were gone. And worse the communists suffered enormous casualties in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines which caused their strength to dwindle. The central committee then declared the implementation of Second Great Rectification Movement in the 1990’s to make internal criticism on mistakes committed in the past. It was launched in 1992 and largely completed in 1998.                                                                                               

The rectification resulted to the purges in the rank of the CPP/NPA .  Hundreds of members were secretly and summarily executed by their own comrades on suspicion of being deep penetration agent of the military. This resulted to the divisions and demoralization to the ranks of the communists. Jose Maria Sison reiterated his policy of a protracted war. Those who adhered to his view were called the reaffirmists. There were those who rejected his idea and believed that the NPA was ready to attack the urban centers as prelude to overthrow the government. Those who supported that view were called rejectionists.

The CPP/NPA’s rebellion had exacted its toll on the Filipinos especially those living in the rural area. It is estimated that the total number of death since the NPA’s founding in 1969 has now totaled 40,000. The casualties included military, police, civilians and communists. The NPAs have sustained their struggle by collecting taxes on business establishments like mining, logging, telecommunication companies and others. It is estimated that they had collected 1.5 billion pesos since 1998. The CPP/NPA is also reportedly receiving money from foreign donors and sponsors. The government and the military termed the collection of the NPAs as extortion.

NPAs’ imposition of revolutionary taxes has tarnished its image. They convey their message to uncooperative businessmen and establishments by destroying or burning trucks and backhoes and other equipments.  There were also reports of liquidations by the NPAs of men in uniform and civilians that are against them. One of the high profile assassinations that they carried out in 1989 was that of US Army Colonel James Rowe, founder of US Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Course. It is also reported that the NPAs recruit children as combatants which is a violation of children’s rights. Because of their atrocities the NPAs were declared by the US State Department as a foreign terrorist organization and as so did the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

It is estimated that the strength of the CPP/NPA has reduced dramatically in recent years. During its peak in 1987 the group has about 25,200 members with 15,500 firearms. By the end of 2009 their strength was only 4,702 with 4,895 firearms. The number of barangays or villages where it has influence was estimated at 8,500 in 1987, but in 2009 it was 1,077 or only 2.5% of the total 42,000 barangays.

The Philippines is now a newly industrializing country and is the 45^th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP. By 2050 the Philippines is projected by HSBC to become the 16^th largest economy in the world if it can sustain its good economic indicators such as educational opportunity and democratic government or strong rule of law. Ironically the CPP/NPA depends on negative indicators like corruption, weak economy, and social instability in the government to sustain its armed struggle. Without these adverse conditions the people have no reason to support or sympathize with it. Worse, most people now believe that communism is a failed ideology. Judging from the steady decline of its memberships, the NPA’s chance to overthrow the government through armed struggle is indeed bleak, or that it would take them long years to succeed if they could ever do it at all.   

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Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese General Who Humbled the Western Powers                   

Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese General Who Humbled the Western Powers

Vo Nguyen Giap was born on August 25, 1911, in Quang-Binh province of Vietnam. He studied at Lycee Albert-Sarrant in Hanoi where he earned his law degree in 1937. He became a professor of history at Lycee Than Long in Hanoi. He joined the communist party and in 1938 married Min Thai. Together, they worked for the Indo-China Communist Party. He was active in anti-colonial activities and was an ardent nationalist. When the party was outlawed by the French authorities he escaped to China where he joined Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam Revolutionary League (Viet Minh). In Vietnam, Giap’s sister-in-law and his wife were captured by the French. His wife later died in prison in 1939.                                                                      

The Japanese occupied Vietnam during the Second World War. Giap organized a resistance group that fought the Japanese until the end of the war. He also supported the goals of Ho Chi Minh’s independence movement. After the Japanese forces were defeated in 1945 Ho announced the independence of the country and formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He then appointed Vo Nguyen Giap as commander of all police and internal security forces and as commander-in- chief of the armed forces. But the French reestablished its authority on its possession in Indo-China after the war. It refused to recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and armed conflict followed as a result.                                                                     

The war turned favorable for Ho Chi Minh when in 1949 Mao Zedong defeated the Kuomintang regime of Chiang Kai-shik and established a communist government in China. A big next door neighbor became an ally and a supporter. Ho Chi Minh’s forces could now bring supplies and men from there and seek refuge there when the situations were bad.

The cost of war in terms of lives and money for the French were mounting, and there was no victory in sight. Above all, the French public thought that there was no moral justification for the war, and it increasingly became unpopular at home.  The French promised to set up a national government and to grant Vietnam independence. However, the Viet Minh did not trust the French, and the war continued.                                            

General Henri Navarre, the commander of the French forces In Vietnam devised a plan to draw the Viet Minh to the negotiating table.  He thought of defeating the communist in a large scale conventional battle by blocking the route of men and supplies from Laos at Dien Bien Phu which is at the northwest of Vietnam.  Navarre thought and hoped that If Giap took the bait he could destroy his forces.                

General Giap did not see the possible outcome of the battle the way Navarre did. He accepted Navarre’s challenge. The French positioned about 14,000 troops, artillery and other weapons at Dien Bien Phu. Giap put up about 70,000 men and enveloped the French position. He brought artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns across the most difficult terrain which the French had not anticipated. He then placed them in vantage positions and dug trenches and secret tunnels leading to the positions of the French. When the fighting commenced the French forces were all but outclassed. Giap’s anti-aircraft guns that were brought from China also made it difficult or impossible for the French to bring in reinforcement of fresh troops and supplies.

On May 7, after 55 day of siege the French forces surrendered to the forces of General Giap.  The French suffered 7,000 casualties and 11,000 were held as prisoners of war. The following day, on May 8, 1954, the French government announced its intention to withdraw its forces from Vietnam.  

In the aftermath of the French debacle at Dien Bien Phu, a conference at Geneva was held. On May 8, 1954, Vietnam was partitioned at the 17^th parallel and a reunification election was to be held in 1956. In the divided Vietnam the north was allied with the USSR and China. The south was allied with the United States. In the north Vo Nguyen Giap became the deputy minister, minister of defense and commander in chief of the armed forces.

South Vietnam’s distrust of the communists resulted to the non realization of the reunification election. President Ngu Dinh Diem stated that he was not bound by the Geneva accord and declared the Independence of South Vietnam in 1955. Diem’s actions were implicit declaration of war against the north. And battle lines were drawn between the two neighboring brothers.                                    

The entry and interference of the United States in the conflict escalated the war. There were the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the US forces pitted against the North Vietnamese Army and National Liberation Front (NLF) which was also called the Viet Cong. USSR and China provided assistance to the north and the NLF in terms of war materiel.                                                                            

The United States, wary of communist takeover of Vietnam and the fall of other Asian neighbors to the communists, made its strong presence felt in the Vietnamese conflict. In 1961, there were only two helicopter companies with 4,000 US soldiers.  In 1965 the US strength was up at 200,000 and in 1968 it ballooned to 525,000.                                                                                                                                                               

North Vietnam in which Vo Nguyen Giap was the commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army devised a plan to score big victory in the magnitude of Dien Bien Phu to weaken US resolve to continue the war. A massive, simultaneous, and coordinated attack by the North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong to coincide with the Vietnamese lunar New Year called Tet would be launched against 100 urban targets all over South Vietnam.                                                                                                  

The Tet Offensive turned out to be a tactical disaster to the communists instead. It lost 45,000 of its best troops and the NLF was virtually crippled. The military defeat of the communist however had unintended consequences that were favorable to them. The Tet Offensive had created an impression to the American political and military leaderships that the war in Vietnam could not be won. Moreover, the horror of war as shown on TVs and media heightened the anti-war sentiment of the American public.

US leadership thought that a negotiated withdrawal could be its solution to the problem that it had gotten itself into. The US sued for peace negotiations. A peace talk collapsed in December 16, 1972, and President Nixon ordered massive bombings of Hanoi and Haipong by B52 bombers to bring the communists back to the negotiating table.                                                                                                                                                      

On Jan 27, 1973, In Paris, delegations from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the provisional government signed agreement ending the war and restoring peace. Some conditions of the deal was the withdrawal of all US and allied forces from South Vietnam, the  return of POWs on both sides and an international monitoring committee composed of Hungary, Poland, Canada and Indonesia to oversee the implementation of peace accord. However, President Nguyen Van Thieu was apprehensive with the deal since 145,000 troops from the north would still remain in the south. He called the peace deal made by Henry Kissinger and Le Dhuc Tho a “sell out”.

Kissinger and Tho were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace deal. Kissinger accepted it but Tho did not. Tho correctly thought that peace was not attained with the deal and beyond that deal major battles loomed ahead. Peace could only be attained when communist victory was in hand.

After escalating a war that caused 57,685 American lives plus 153,303 wounded and a spending that cost about 686 US billion dollars, the US forces left Vietnam in 1973. To some observers, the withdrawal was an implicit admission of defeat.  The US left the task of fighting the communist to the government of South Vietnam which it called “Vietnamization”.  Under that policy the US would continue to give financial and material support to the south to prosecute the war. Nixon even hinted that the US would come to the aid of the south if the north violated the peace deal.

The US pullout had an immediate impact on the Vietnamese economy which depended too much on the spending of the US troops. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 sent the price of oil skyrocketing and it made the operation of US left behind war equipments such as planes and tanks more expensive to operate. Furthermore, Nixon’s credibility was greatly eroded by the Watergate Scandal. Although another republican Gerald Ford took over the presidency from Nixon, the 1974 mid-term election saw the democrats who were anti-war winning the majority of both the lower and upper houses of US congress.

The democrats made resolution to phase out the war funding. It was decreased in 1975 and cut off in 1976. Furthermore, the Case-Church amendment of 1974 prohibited the intervention of the US in case of a re-escalation of the war in Vietnam.

As soon as the US forces were gone, the North Vietnamese under General Giap’s guidance and leadership as the commander-in-chief began attacking south and most of the south’s key positions were overran by the communists. President Ford wanted to help but his hands were tied by congress. There was no way the south could stave off defeat. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell and the Republic of Vietnam surrendered unconditionally. And the north and the south were unified as one country under the rule of the communists.

Vo Nguyen Giap was the chief of the People’s Army throughout the war with the United States. His resoluteness to fight a protracted war, his willingness to accept staggering battlefield losses in furtherance of his ends and his ability to move men and war materiel across impossible terrain in sufficient numbers to accomplish his goals have enabled him to become one of the most successful military commanders in recent history.                                                                                                  

From 1976 when north and south were united Giap served as minister of defense, he also became the deputy prime minister in 1976. He was a member of the politburo of the communist party until 1982.

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